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| Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group |
Hyundai expands into robotics business
By Kim Hyun-bin
Hyundai Motor Group is in the final stages of selling off its first Beijing plant to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Li Motors, which has posted a recruitment notice recently for management and administrative positions in Beijing.
The notice was posted on the company website, to recruit for plant executive and project management positions last week. Industry officials say the notice hinted the possible acquisition deal might be completed soon as the location for the recruitment is for Beijing Shunyi Administrative District near the location of Hyundai's Beijing plant.
Last November, Li Auto established a Beijing branch in Shunyi District, which is just 10 kilometers from Hyundai's first Beijing plant. Earlier this month, Hyundai also was deemed to be in the final negotiation procedures with the Shunyi government to sell its plant site.
Li Auto was founded by Chairman and CEO Li Xiang in 2015 and started production of EVs at its Changzhou plant this year. It announced it would drastically increase its annual manufacture capabilities to 1.6 million vehicles by 2025, from the current 100,000. Last year Li Auto was listed on the NASDAQ and has a market capitalization of $27.2 billion as of market close Friday and is considered the top three EV manufacturer in China along with NIO and Xiapeng Motors.
The South Korean carmaker is on track to sell its plant to Li Auto for 6 billion yuan ($942.8 million). Li Auto reportedly plans to operate the facility starting in 2023, while aiming to generate annual sales of 30 billion yuan by 2024.
Hyundai Motor said nothing has been finalized with the Shunyi Administrative District with regards to the sale at the moment.
The Hyundai plant was established in 2002 with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles. It was the start of Hyundai's China endeavor and helped expand the company's market share in the world's largest car market.
Operations have been suspended at the plant after Hyundai suffered sluggish sales in China due to lingering tensions between Seoul and Beijing following the THAAD deployment in Korea in 2017. Beijing has opposed the THAAD deployment in Korea, claiming that its powerful radar could be used to spy on China's airspace. Sales started to deteriorate swiftly after the THAAD deployment resulting in a total shutdown of the plant in April 2019.
Even with the sell-offs, Hyundai will have four other plants in operation in China ― two in Beijing, and one each in Changzhou and Chongqing. The company also operates seven domestic plants and six other overseas plants in the U.S., the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India and Brazil with a combined annual production capacity of 5.5 million vehicles.
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| The recently unveiled fully electrified Genesis G80 / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group |
Hyundai has been trying to revive sales in the world's largest car market by introducing lineups to better cater to the Chinese market and to reorganize its sales networks.
As part of its efforts, the company has launched its independent Genesis brand in the Chinese market. Hyundai Motor Group also aims to launch 20 electric models in China by 2030 including plans to launch its flagship EV model IONIQ 5 to gain a piece of the neighboring country's growing EV demand.
On a related note, Hyundai Motor has finalized its acquisition of global robotics firm Boston Dynamics, which comes after the two companies inked a formal agreement last December, the company said, Monday.
Hyundai said there will be a drastic increase in global demand for robots, which led to the decision to acquire an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics for $1.1 billion in December to utilize its robotics technology in a wide range of industrial fields including in lifesaving operations as well as creating synergy in the robotics sector with added value and enhanced competiveness.
